Article by Phoenix writer Brooke Oldenborg ’26:
On Thursday, February 8th, Kellenberg’s Forensics Club met in the Chemistry Lab to discuss arson. For the past couple weeks, the club has been learning about the forensic approach to this topic, and their studies all came together during this meeting.
Thirty club members broke into eight different groups to solve a mini-case entitled, “The Case of the Suspicious Fire.” They were all given background information in order to come up with clues and evidence to support their claim on who the arsonist was. The groups then reconfigured to talk about their theories and the research they had compiled.
After talking for a few minutes, they combined their clues to come up with a reasonable conclusion that backed up their evidence.
Club moderator Mrs. Graziano wisely stated, “Collaboration of all your evidence is really how forensic science works.”
After solving the mystery, the club watched an in-depth video describing the case of the “Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire,” which occurred in 1911. It has not been proven that this case occurred as a result of arson, which makes it the perfect example to incorporate into the meeting.
After learning about the case, the club discussed how forensic science has improved over the years.
Junior Mackenzie Ras, a member of the Forensics Club, mentioned, “I think it’s really sad how many people died, but it was interesting to learn about how far we’ve come.”
The moderators concluded the meeting by discussing how society has improved fire safety in recent years and how forensic science in this area continues to evolve.
The Forensics Club meets on Thursdays after school in the Chemistry Lab. Students interested can contact Mrs. Graziano or Ms. Meyers with any questions.
